Thromboembolic diseases remain the leading cause of death in developed countries despite the availability of anticoagulants such as warfarin (COUMADIN®), heparin, low molecular weight heparins (LMWH), and synthetic pentasaccharides and antiplatelet agents such as aspirin and clopidogrel (PLAVIX®). The oral anticoagulant warfarin, inhibits the post-translational maturation of coagulation factors VII, IX, X and prothrombin, and has proven effective in both venous and arterial thrombosis. However, its usage is limited due to its narrow therapeutic index, slow onset of therapeutic effect, numerous dietary and drug interactions, and a need for monitoring and dose adjustment. Thus discovering and developing safe and efficacious oral anticoagulants for the prevention and treatment of a wide range of thromboembolic disorders has become increasingly important.
One approach is to inhibit thrombin generation by targeting the inhibition of coagulation factor XIa (FXIa). Factor XIa is a plasma serine protease involved in the regulation of blood coagulation, which is initiated in vivo by the binding of tissue factor (TF) to factor VII (FVII) to generate factor VIIa (FVIIa). The resulting TF:FVIIa complex activates factor IX (FIX) and factor X (FX) that leads to the production of factor Xa (FXa). The generated FXa catalyzes the transformation of prothrombin into small amounts of thrombin before this pathway is shut down by tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI). The process of coagulation is then further propagated via the feedback activation of Factors V, VIII and XI by catalytic amounts of thrombin. (Gailani, D. et al., Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., 27:2507-2513 (2007).) The resulting burst of thrombin converts fibrinogen to fibrin that polymerizes to form the structural framework of a blood clot, and activates platelets, which are a key cellular component of coagulation (Hoffman, M., Blood Reviews, 17:S1-S5 (2003)). Therefore, factor XIa plays a key role in propagating this amplification loop and is thus an attractive target for anti-thrombotic therapy.
An alternative way of initiation of coagulation is operative when blood is exposed to artificial surfaces. This process is also termed contact activation. Surface absorption of factor XII leads to a conformational change in the factor XII molecule, thereby facilitating activation to proteolytic active factor XII molecules (factor XIIa and factor XIIf). Factor XIIa (or XIIf) has a number of target proteins, including plasma prekallikrein and factor XI.
Plasma prekallikrein is a zymogen of a trypsin-like serine protease and is present in plasma at 35 to 50 μg/mL. The gene structure is similar to that of factor XI. Overall, the amino acid sequence of plasma kallikrein has 58% homology to factor XI. Plasma kallikrein is thought to play a role in a number of inflammatory disorders. The major inhibitor of plasma kallikrein is the serpin C1 esterase inhibitor. Patients who present with a genetic deficiency in C1 esterase inhibitor suffer from hereditary angioedema (HAE) which results in intermittent swelling of face, hands, throat, gastro-intestinal tract and genitals. Blisters formed during acute episodes contain high levels of plasma kallikrein which cleaves high molecular weight kininogen liberating bradykinin leading to increased vascular permeability. Treatment with a large protein plasma kallikrein inhibitor has been shown to effectively treat HAE by preventing the release of bradykinin which causes increased vascular permeability (Lehmann, A., “Ecallantide (DX-88), a plasma kallikrein inhibitor for the treatment of hereditary angioedema and the prevention of blood loss in on-pump cardiothoracic surgery”, Expert Opin. Biol. Ther., 8:1187-1199 (2008)).
The plasma kallikrein-kinin system is abnormally abundant in patients with advanced diabetic macular edema. It has been recently published that plasma kallikrein contributes to retinal vascular dysfunctions in diabetic rats (Clermont, A. et al., “Plasma kallikrein mediates retinal vascular dysfunction and induces retinal thickening in diabetic rats”, Diabetes, 60:1590-1598 (2011)). Furthermore, administration of the plasma kallikrein inhibitor ASP-440 ameliorated both retinal vascular permeability and retinal blood flow abnormalities in diabetic rats. Therefore, a plasma kallikrein inhibitor should have utility as a treatment to reduce retinal vascular permeability associated with diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. Other complications of diabetes such as cerebral hemorrhage, nephropathy, cardiomyopathy and neuropathy, all of which have associations with plasma kallikrein may also be considered as targets for a plasma kallikrein inhibitor.
To date, no small molecule synthetic plasma kallikrein inhibitor has been approved for medical use. The large protein plasma kallikrein inhibitors present risks of anaphylactic reactions, as has been reported for Ecallantide. Thus there remains a need for compounds that inhibit plasma kallikrein, that do not induce anaphylaxis and that are orally available. Furthermore, the molecules in the known art feature a highly polar and ionizable guanidine or amidine functionality. It is well known that such functionalities may be limiting to gut permeability and therefore to oral availability.